Automotive News Canada - January 2022 - 15

* JANUARY 2022
15
CANADA'S EV FUTURE
ADAPTING TO CHANGE AND SEIZING OPPORTUNITY
PRIMING THE 'PUMP'
FOR THE EV ERA
Filling stations rethink
service for customers
waiting to recharge
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
ELECTRIC VEHICLES HAVE
introduced a new breed of consumer with
a different set of driving patterns, forcing
fuel stations to begin carving out real
estate for chargers and adopting new
strategies to entice drivers to exit the
roadway.
" Every single conventional-vehicle
driver has to refuel at something
that looks like a gas station, " said Scott
Sharabura, vice-president of strategy at
Calgary-based Parkland Corp.
" Not every EV driver has to do
the same thing. "
Parkland runs the Ultramar
and Pioneer brands of filling
stations, among others, as
well as the On the Run convenience-store
chain in Canada. Its
initial foray into the charging
market - a 25-station network
running from Vancouver Island
to Calgary - targets drivers
where range anxiety is at its
peak.
" They're worried they don't
have other options to be able to
[charge], " Sharabura said. " And
so for us, being able to find those
highway locations has been
key. "
FAST CHARGING, SLOWLY
Romano, the change cannot happen
quickly enough. He hopes to see a charger
at every gas station within the next
10 years - and wants no compromise on
charging speed.
" The most important thing is that they
put in the top-of-the-line Level 3 chargers
that charge at the fastest rate possible
and not the Level 2 chargers that take
two or three hours, " Romano said.
The faster that gas stations make the
shift, he said, the faster that EVs will be
adopted.
Petro-Canada's network of fast chargers
now spans 57 stations coast to
coast. The chain is using the pilot project
to gauge customer use and prepare
for a wider rollout, said Patrick Ritchie,
vice-president of sales and marketing
at Suncor Energy Inc., which controls
Petro-Canada.
'MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION'
Exactly which driving patterns
change, however, remains
the " million-dollar question, "
Ritchie said.
Sharabura:
Highway
locations are
key for Parkland
stations while
" nicer " sites
with better
amenities are
also being
favoured.
LINKEDIN PHOTO
Last fall, Parkland installed its first
DC fast chargers in Kelowna, located in
British Columbia's interior. This will be
followed by two dozen other locations in
2022. Each station will be capable of powering
four EVs at a time.
Eventually, the company might
claw space away from fuel pumps for
charging, but that is at least five years
away, Sharabura said.
" This is more about adding infrastructure
to existing sites, not taking away
from the existing conventional fuel experience. "
For
Hyundai Canada CEO Don
" We're trying to monitor that
closely and understand that.
We have a set of criteria that
we understand where the needs
are, and then we'll develop our
sites accordingly. "
With existing charging stations
spaced roughly 250 kilometres
apart, Petro-Canada
plans to focus next on building
out its network where it sees
the most use, namely in urban
centres in British Columbia,
Ontario and Quebec.
But location is just one part of
the equation. Because EV drivers
spend more time plugged in than conventional
drivers spend at the pump - 15
to 20 minutes, compared with no more
than five for a gasoline fill-up - locations
with food and a welcoming convenience
store will be the primary candidates for
chargers, Ritchie said.
Parkland is taking a similar approach
to site selection.
" EV charging infrastructure is not a
great fit for the kind of tired, run-down
gas station, " Sharabura said. " So, these
tend to be, quite frankly, our nicer sites. "
AMENITIES WILL MATTER
With Quebec as the next market that
Parkland is eyeing for expanding its
charging footprint, the locations
that already have quick-service
restaurants, well-stocked convenience
stores and top-notch
washrooms will be the likeliest
converts, Sharabura said.
Cara Clairman, CEO of the
nonprofit EV advocate Plug'n
Drive, sees this as the right
strategy.
" People just won't stop at a
place that doesn't have that, "
Clairman said. If fuel stations
want to entice EV drivers, she
said, they will need to provide
access to a mix of amenities as
their vehicles charge.
Clairman:
When mapping out new stations,
both Parkland and PetroCanada
have begun factoring charging
into their plans. In some instances, the
proper electrical infrastructure might be
part of the initial construction to eliminate
later retrofit costs, but the chargers
will not be put in place until EV demand
ticks up.
" People just
won't stop
[to charge] at
a place that
doesn't have
[amenities]. "
FILE PHOTO
gers improve, Ritchie said, the company
is working to return to a method that
resembles a fuel lane.
" We recognize in the future,
especially as the vehicles can
take a faster charge, you probably
have the more traditional . . .
offering where they pull in lanes
and then can actually leave
through there, too, " he said.
With the current approach,
Ritchie said, it has been challenging
for Petro-Canada to find
space for chargers on certain
sites, particularly older urban
locations.
Improving EV affordability and a new
federal desire that all new-vehicle sales
be zero emissions by 2035 is expected to
transform Canada's EV market in the
coming years.
To fit charging space into existing
locations, Petro-Canada does not yet have
a defined formula. EVs simply pull into
charger-equipped parking spaces. But as
charging points and on-ui8board charPetro-Canada
is using a 57-station pilot project of
fast chargers to assess customer use and prepare
for a larger rollout. SUPPLIED PHOTO
Up against the same constraints,
Parkland has typically
opted for highway-adjacent
sites that have larger footprints
to work with, Sharabura said.
At more congested locations, he
said, it has been " tricky " to balance existing
parking with new charging space.
The company has looked to Europe for
inspiration on urban station design and
is also considering a departure from the
traditional fuel-station model.
" It's a lot easier to put in an EV charger
just about anywhere that you can
find a parking lot, " Sharabura said, comparing
that option to adding chargers at
urban filling stations, where they would
compete for space with fuel pumps.
Sharabura sees this new off-station
approach as a natural way for Parkland to
serve emerging EV customers, though he
said the company is still in the early stages
of exploring the opportunity. - ANC
Every single conventionalvehicle
driver has to refuel at
something that looks like a gas
station. Not every EV driver has
to do the same thing.
SCOTT SHARABURA
Parkland Corp.
Automotive News Canada - January 2022

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